Dental Drama, What to Do If Your Child's Tooth Gets Knocked Out

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Dental Drama, What to Do If Your Child's Tooth Gets Knocked Out

Accidents with children happen more often than we would like. In the case of a dental emergency immediate action should be taken. Your initial goal should be to get the child to the dentist in hopes of replanting the tooth and you have less than an hour to do so. So, you will want to have a strategy in place in case your child's tooth is ever knocked out. In order to handle the situation effectively and efficiently follow these essential tips:

Dental emergency do and don't

Don't panic. The experience is already traumatic enough for children due to all the blood and unexpected pain. Panic only makes the situation worse for both parent and child. So, just chill out!

Do check to verify that there are no other serious injuries that could be life threatening. If the impact was strong enough to knock out a tooth it's very possible that your child could have a serious head injury. Some of the most common signs of a head injury include loss of consciousness, nausea, unsteady gate, disturbed vision and confusion. Call 911 immediately in this case or take your child to an emergency room.

Do comfort your child and let them know everything is going to be okay. Also, you will want to gently clean their face and mouth of blood.

Don't hesitate to contact your pediatric dentist right away. He/she can provide the best possible advice.

Do attempt to stop the bleeding. However, first you must significantly clean the area to ensure the blood is only coming from the tooth and not some other injury in the mouth. Once you have established this, apply direct pressure to the tooth socket with a clean, moist towel for a few minutes.

Do try and save the tooth by transporting it to the dentist in suitable liquid, such as milk. The rule of thumb is that in order to replant a tooth it must be done by a dentist in less than an hour after it was knocked out. Keep in mind that baby teeth should not be replanted. Also, do not attempt to clean the tooth. Leave this handiwork to your dentist.